Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Michael Lee Murray, 35, is charged with property damage and reckless endangerment.
- The Midvale man is accused of driving his car into the lobby of a Sandy dealership after being denied a refund.
SANDY — A Midvale man who made national headlines when he allegedly drove his newly purchased vehicle into a Sandy dealership after they wouldn't give him a refund is now facing criminal charges.
Michael Lee Murray, 35, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with causing property damage, a second-degree felony; plus reckless endangerment and causing economic interruption, class A misdemeanors.
On Dec. 9, police were called to Tim Dahle Mazda Southtowne, 10785 S. Auto Mall Drive, where Murray had purchased a car from the dealership earlier in the day but brought it back several hours later.
"Upon arrival, officers located a silver Subaru Outback inside of the building where the reception desk used to be," according to charging documents.
Employees told officers that Murray "was demanding his money back," and they were "unable to reason with Murray," the charges state. After being told he could not receive a refund, Murray allegedly told employees he was going to drive the vehicle through the front doors.
"Murray then walked outside of the building. At this point (a manager) warned employees and guests to get away from the doors. Murray then crashed the vehicle through the front doors, narrowly (missing) employees and guests in the building. The total cost to repair the damage to the building was $85,838," according to the charges.
When police asked Murray what happened, he said, "They tried to sell me a lemon," the charges state.
In an interview with KSL-TV, Murray said he knows what he did was wrong and was frustrated and emotionally drained that day,
Prosecutors also noted in the charges that "Murray also has a criminal past with several violent felony convictions to include kidnapping, domestic violence convictions and violations. This shows that Murray has a temper and is unable to control his temper. Absent court intervention, (he) is likely to cause someone's death."
